The San Diego art cooperative Space 4 Art has been awarded nonprofit status by the IRS.

“We are thrilled to have received this positive determination from the IRS,” said Patric Stillman, Space 4 Art’s executive director in a statement. “It will allow Space 4 Art to pursue establishing a permanent home, obtaining access to new technologies, improve educational programming and provide artists with fiscal sponsorships.”

Space 4 Art, which comprises 40 studios, a gallery and performance space in three warehouses and an outdoor lot in East Village, had formed a board of directors and applied to the IRS for nonprofit status about a year ago.

The organization is in the fourth year of a five year lease at its current location and is weighing options regarding its future, which could include a move. Its new nonprofit status should be an incentive for much-needed donors and increase the chances of a successful capital campaign.

The organization (at 325 15th St.) will host a June 8 open house that will include art from local college art programs, an exhibit by UC San Diego’s Preuss High School students, and open studios.

Space 4 Art has also embarked on its second Kickstarter campaign, with a goal of $12,500 by June 13 that would be used to underwrite the cost of a series of art exhibits.

The campaign, according to the group’s note on its

Kickstarter.com page, is the “first in a series of crowdsourcing and fundraising events that will take place by SPACE 4 ART this year as the arts community comes together to realize a permanent facility for San Diego’s working artists.”